Tee members for suspended ceilings



Oct. 23, 1956 H. E. BRANDS TETTER ET AL 2,767,315

TEE MEMBERS FOR SUSPENDED CEILINGS 2 She'ets-Sheet 1 Fi1 e 1 Sept. 24. 1952 Zzzgaufomg Oct. 23, 1956 H. E. BRANDSTETTER ETAL TEE MEMBERS FOR SUSPENDED CEILINGS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 24. 1952 fzyanimi'dr United States Patent TEE MEMBERS FOR SUSPENDED CEILINGS Hugo E. Brandstetter, Chicago, and Vernon R. Beyer, Maywood, Ill., assignors to Alto Manufacturing Co., a corporation of Illinois Application September 24, 1952, Serial No. 311,208

1 Claim. (Cl. 189-85) This invention relates to inverted T-shaped supporting members and to Ts for use in a grid system for suspended ceilings. The Ts of the present invention have covers which fit over the arms of the Ts. By using these covers, it is possible to fabricate, by a rolling process, highly efiicient and attractive T members for use in a suspended grid system with attendant advantages heretofore unattainable in such systems.

Grid systems employing inverted Ts of the present invention comprise a plurality of supporting Ts which are suspended by wires or other suitable means from structural members or from an existing ceiling. The supporting Ts are interlocked by a plurality of cross Ts at spaced intervals. The cross Ts are positioned at right angles relative to the supporting Ts. The supporting Ts and cross tees form a latticework and ceiling boards are placed within the lattice-work and rest on the arms of the Ts to complete the ceiling installation.

In the past, certain of these Ts for use in grid systems for suspended ceilings have been fabricated from extruded aluminum. These Ts are quite expensive to produce and are difficult to fabricate. Furthermore, when assembling such aluminum members, no matter how clean the members are kept, a quantity of dirt is always present on the surface of the metal and when the unpainted aluminum Ts are handled, this dirt comes oif on the hands. In spite of extreme care in installing, some of this dirt is always transferred to the ceiling boards when they are inserted in place. The present invention provides a cover for the Ts which is prefinished with a suitable decorative coating, such as paint, so that when the installation is made, the ceiling boards are kept clean.

. 'With the system of the present invention, the supporting Ts can be fabricated from cold rolled steel or similar material which is strong, thin, light and inexpensive. The Ts are rolled into shape, rather than extruded, with consequent savings in manufacturing costs.

Prior to our invention, Ts for use in grid systems for suspended ceilings could not be satisfactorily fabricated by rolling from a piece of sheet stock. Such a rolled T shape presents an unsightly gap at the junction of the so rolled arms and legs of the tee, which gap runs the entire length of the T and would be visible when the ceiling is installed. With the covered T of the present invention, the gap at the junction of the arms and legs of the T is hidden from view by the cover. This greatly improves the appearance of the installation and makes the use of a rolled shape commercially feasible.

When the system is installed, the cover is the only portion which is visible and consequently, only the cover need be finished. This further reduces costs. The cover may be pre-finished with any suitable decorative coating and the finish will not be disturbed during the ceiling installation since the cover need not be handled until shortly before the installation is completed.

A still further advantage inherent in the Ts of our invention is the ease of fabrication. The means for securing the supporting Ts and the cross Ts together may ice be provided at the same time that the Ts are cut to length with resultant savings in manufacturing costs. Should it be necessary to extend the length of the supporting Ts, this can be readily accomplished by the simple expedient of sliding a supporting T into the cover of an adjacent supporting T.

The structure by means of which the above and other advantages of the invention are attained will be described in detail in the following specification, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, showing a preferred illustrative embodiment of the invention, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of ceiling installation showing the manner in which the supporting Ts and cross Ts of the present invention are secured in place and showing how the ceiling boards are installed between the supporting Ts and cross Ts;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing a plurality of supporting Ts and cross Ts secured together;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a portion of a supporting T and its associated cover;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of one end of a cross T;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a supporting T having a cross T secured thereto and showing how the ceiling board rests on an arm of the supporting T;

Fig. 6 is a cross sectional view taken along the lines 66 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary top plan view, showing the manner of attaching a cross T to a supporting T;

Fig. 8 is a cross sectional view taken along the lines 88 of Fig. 7; and

Fig. 9 is a side elevational view, partially in section, showing the manner of securing two supporting Ts together by sliding one supporting T into the cover of an adjacent supporting T.

Referring to the drawings which illustrate a suspended grid system employing the Ts of the present invention, the system has a plurality of inverted T-shaped supporting Ts 1i and cross Ts 12. The cross Ts are secured to the supporting Ts at spaced intervals. Supporting Ts 11 are suspended from structural members (not shown) or an existing ceiling (not shown) in any suitable manner, for example, by wires 13. The distances between supporting Ts 11 and cross Ts 12 may be varied rather widely as desired although in most installations the distances between two supporting Ts 11 is approximately two feet and the distance between two cross Ts 12 is usually approximately four feet to accommodate ceiling boards 14 of approximate 2' x 4' dimension. These dimensions are merely suggestive and are not to be taken as limitations upon the invention. The ceiling boards may be fabricated from any desirable material, suitably fibrous, which may be treated to render them fireproof. The boards may be formed of materials which are inherently fire-resistant. One such fibrous material is that sold by the Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation of Toledo, Ohio, under the trademark Fiberglas.

Supporting T s 11 are rolled from a single piece of sheet stock to form an upstanding leg 15 of double thickness and arms 16 and 17 extending outwardly at substantially right angles from said leg. Each leg 15 is provided with holes 18 so that suspension wires 13 may be secured to the supporting Ts.

When the Ts are rolled, a gap or seam 21 is formed at the junction of leg 15 and arms 16 and 17, and the gap runs the length of the T. In the past, it was impractical to roll Ts for suspended ceilings because of this unsightly gap which is visible when the Ts were installed. In our system, gap 21 is hidden from view by a cover having a body portion 22 and upwardly and inwardly extending flanges 23 at either end thereof. The cover may be readily slid over T 11 by sliding arms 16 and 17 under flanges 23 so that the cover body bridges arms 16 and 17 and hides gap 21.

The cover also serves to join two supporting Ts together should it be necessary to increase the length of the supporting Ts where the installed ceiling is unusually long. Fig. 9 shows two supporting Ts 11 so joined, the arms of one T being securely held by the cover of the adjacent T. It is manifest that any number of supporting Ts may be joined in this manner.

At the time that supporting Ts 11 are cut to the desired length, ears 25 are alternately struck from arms 17 and 18 at appropriately spaced intervals. Ears 25 aid in securing cross Ts 12 to supporting Ts 11.

Cross Ts 12 are also rolled from sheet stock and have a leg 26 and arms 27 and 28. A gap 29 is present at the junction of leg 26 and arms 27 and 28. A cover body 31, having upwardly and inwardly extending flanges 32 which slide over arms 27 and 28, is provided on each cross T 12 in a manner similar to that in which covers are provided on supporting Ts 11.

Holes 33 are provided in ends of arms 27 and 28. One hole 33 is provided in arm 27 at one end of cross T 12 (Fig. and another hole 33 is provided in arm 28 at the other end of cross T 12 (Fig. 7). Holes 33 register with cars 25 and cross Ts 12 rest on and are secured to supporting Ts 11 by bending cars 25 downwardly into engagement with arm 27 or arm 28 as is clearly shown in Figs. 58. We prefer to provide one ear 25 and one associated hole 33 for securing each end of cross T 12 to a supporting T 11. By providing only one hole and one car, it is impossible to improperly attach the cross Ts to the supporting Ts.

When attached to supporting T 11, arms 27 and 28 of cross T 12 overlie flange 23 and arm 16 or 17 of the sup porting T. 50 that the bottom of cover body 31 will be flush with the bottom of cover body 22, it is preferred to offset the ends of arms 27 and 28, as indicated at 34. Instead of offsetting the ends of arms 27 and 28, covers 22 and 31 may be made flush by making cover body 31 thicker than cover body 22, or flanges 32 could be bent upwardly a sufiicient distance, before bending them inwardly, to compensate for the thickness of the metal of flange 23.

To install the Ts of our invention into a grid system, supporting Ts 11 are cut to length. Ears 25 may be struck in arms 16 and 17 at the same time that the Ts are cut to length. Covers are then slid on supporting Ts 11 and the supporting Ts are suspended from the ceiling or structural members by wires or other suitable means. The supporting Ts may be secured to the walls of the 4 room by resting the arms of the Ts on the horizontal flange of an L-shaped molding 35.

Cross Ts 12, having their associated covers in place, are then placed between the supporting Ts 11 with cars 25 in register with holes 33. Ears 25 are then bent downwardly to securely lock the cross Ts to the supporting Ts. Ceiling boards 14 are then set into place, the ends of the boards resting on the arms of the cross Ts and supporting Ts.

While we have described a preferred embodiment of our invention in considerable detail, it is to be understood that the description is intended to be illustrative rather than restrictive as many details may be modified without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Accordingly, we do not intend to be restricted to the specific structure described except as limited by the appended claim.

We claim:

A grid system adapted to be suspended from an existing structure comprising a plurality of supporting Ts, each of said supporting Ts having a leg and arms, means in said legs for suspending said supporting Ts from said structure, ears in said supporting T arms, a plurality of cross Ts, each of said cross Ts having a leg and arms, said cross T arms having an aperture therein, a cover on each of said supporting Ts covering the entire length of each of said supporting Ts, each of said supporting T covers having a body portion and a pair of upwardly and inwardly extending flanges adapted to slidably fit over and bridge the arms of said supporting T, a cover on each of said cross Ts covering substantially the entire length of each of said cross Ts, each of said cross T covers having a body portion and a pair of upwardly and inwardly extending flanges adapted to slidably fit over and bridge the arms of said cross T, the arms of each of said cross Ts being offset at their ends whereby the arms at each end of each of said cross Ts may be positioned on an associated supporting T with said aperture in said cross T arm in register with an associated ear in said supporting T arm, said cross T cover being flush with said supporting T cover.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,305,746 Rush June 3, 1919 1,471,442 Betz Oct. 23, 1923 2,024,068 Shannon Dec. 10, 1935 2,286,976 Roberts June 16, 1942 2,318,092 Olsen May 4, 1943 2,389,171 Urbain Nov. 20, 1945 

